Posse closing on All Blacks

England pushed the All Blacks to the limit at Twickenham resulting in a penalty try. Picture / Getty Images

English writer says fast-improving rivals have the champs’ scent as Cup approaches

The month-long fest of test rugby began with New Zealand appearing at Soldier Field in Chicago, an aptly named venue as the All Blacks are going to find themselves under constant fire between now and the Rugby World Cup knockout stages in October.

They have lost two matches in the three years since the last tournament, they are the longest-ranked No 1 side in the world, they have seen off all-comers in the Rugby Championship and Europe, yet have returned home with no assurances that they will become the first side to retain a World Cup. Quite the opposite. Even though they are the team to beat, and despite the acclaim and garlands, there is a growing sense that the posse is closing in on them.

Here is why. The Springboks have no inferiority hang-ups when it comes to playing New Zealand, and are the only side to topple them this year. Australia have been riven by internal discord, forced to change coaches at this late juncture, yet have the most tantalisingly potent backline in world rugby, eclipsing even the Kiwis. They will only get better under Michael Cheika.

Ireland have shaken off their chokers tag against the Southern Hemisphere with two notable wins, with the scheming, cerebral influence of coach Joe Schmidt clear to see, while Wales have also put an end to the hex. Scotland are stirring and even France are showing signs of no longer being the basket case of European rugby.

And England? Well, at long last, they may have come to realise that they are never going to be the All Blacks, so why bother trying? Be England. Play hardcore rugby. Stick the ball in front of the forwards. Maul the life out of the opposition. Kick well, chase hard and scrum the living daylights out of weaker packs. It is not a formula that will entice the floating voter. But it is one that will delight England diehards. And rightly so. They shunted New Zealand backwards for a penalty try at Twickenham.

The so-called Twickenham factor did not come into play, with both New Zealand and South Africa getting away with victories, three-point wins that were more comprehensive on the field than they were on the scoreboard. England have to get the most out of the backdrop by the simple matter of producing on the pitch. The off-field malarkey, the connection with the shirt, the summoning of the heritage, is all very well. But it has to be backed up by substance and cleverness. It has taken this group of players a month to appreciate that. The management, too.

Even though they point out that the World Cup will look after itself, that victory against Australia was an end in itself and not a portent, there was a real sense that the tournament, in all its implications and manifestations, hung heavy.

England, for all their fretting and faffing, are in reasonable shape. Just as long as they stick to the script against the Wallabies, that is. Their pack is as good as there is in the world, and can only be strengthened in terms of its depth by the return from injury of the seven missing Lions, not to forget Wasps' Joe Launchbury either.

It was clear from the autumn programme that the Southern Hemisphere sides are fitter, or are more used to high-tempo rugby. New Zealand are masters of the late charge, as Wales found to their heart-wrenching cost in Cardiff. This differential will also diminish.

The All Blacks have never slept easily where rugby is concerned. They take nothing for granted. They know only too well what is stirring out there. The pursuing pack have got their scent.